Chiang Mai Day 2

On our second full day in Chiang Mai, Cathy and I rented some wheels to go around town a lot faster. Bikes are a great way to quickly see a lot of Chiang Mai.  We covered all of the Old City and all the way out to Chiang Mai University.

A terracotta garden that we randomly stumbled across.

We rode down small streets, which were a lot more interesting than bigger avenues.

For lunch, I had chicken stir fry with rice.

With fresh guava juice

...and a local salad

And fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce. The Chinese influence on this food was pretty clear to us.

Old City gates are well planted with a plethora of flowers.  We biked to the Hill Tribe Craft Center and Chiang Mai University.  Unfortunately, we didn't take many pictures, but we had fun cycling around in some fresh air. In the early evening,  came back into the Old City for another round of Thai massage.

Unique banners on the way to another wat.

The wat had Buddhist sayings nailed all over the trees in a picnicking area.

Banana crisps at the Hill Tribe Center. They weren't sweet, but made a healthy and satisfying snack.

We went back to the market area in the evening in search for more deals and Western food. Cathy wanted to have some fun pictures taken once we stumbled across one of them photography studios made for dressing up.  A tall lady-boy put me into a prince's uniform.  I was hesitant at first, but once the kathoey handed me a sword, I got into the spirit of things.

The whole affair was pretty cheesy, I know.  But some of the pics were good, and we both had fun!

I think Cathy can easily pass off as Thai royalty...

My ritual travel Guinness at the Irish pub in the night market area

Dinner = Irish Lamb Stew!!  Not as good as my mom's, but it'll have to do until I go back home in July...